Denver men’s basketball (10-13, 3-5) traveled to Kansas City for a mid-week tilt. The Pioneers were reeling, losing 5 out of their previous 6 games. The UMKC Roos wracked up the same record over the prior 6 games. Something had to give and it was UMKC giving up 20 offensive rebounds (51 in total) to DU in a 69-61 Pioneer win. Denver also excised their end-of-game demons, trailing with little more than six minutes remaining in the game.

Denver only led briefly in the first half as the teams traded buckets in the first half. UMKC led early at the officials timeout, 9-6. Denver got cold from the field, shooting 31% at the midway mark, trailing 19-15. The Pioneers started to control the boards. UMKC worked to a 2-point leads but Shaun Wysocki, Zane Nelson and Carson Johnson countered each time to even the score. A Zane Nelson free throw finally gave Denver their first lead, 26-25, with four minutes left. A Jeremiah Burke stuff put DU up by three, 28-25. Burke’s jam was followed by a soft Johnson jumper, DU up by five. Five straight Roo points evened the score, 32-32, to end the scoring in the first twenty minutes. Denver owned the boards in the first half, led by Gabe Oldham’s 7 boards. Carson Johnson finished the break with 13 points to pace DU.

The second half was more of the same as neither team could string together an extended scoring run. At five minutes, Oldham pulled in a rebound and bucket to build a 40-37 lead. KC countered and took a 46-44 lead at the ten minute mark on a Jayson Petty floater. Oldham matched his first half rebounds at 7 with ten minutes remaining. After the Roos built a four point lead, Carson Johnson hit a 3-point basket to draw within one point, 50-49, with seven minutes left. That was followed by a Burke bomb that put DU up by four points with five minutes to go. A silky Nelson drive and lay-in at three minutes gave DU a 6-point lead, 60-54. At one minute, DU avoided the UMKC trap and Logan Kinsey flushed the dunk-and-one to build a 7-point edge. It was a free-throw fest in the final minute as UMKC tried to close the gap. Final score 69-61.

Carson Johnson finished with 22 points to pace Denver’s scoring. However, it was 19 rebounds by Gabe Oldham and a career high 13 boards from Logan Kinsey that made the difference. Rebounding allowed DU to overcome 36.4% shooting from the field and overtake UMKC down the stretch.

Denver returns to Hamilton Gym Saturday at 2:00 pm MT to face the Omaha Mavs.